


the ghouls all came from their humble abodes

by artemidos



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Bathroom Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Halloween, Post S3, my favourite ot3 spending halloween together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 03:23:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8429851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemidos/pseuds/artemidos
Summary: kate, seth and richie spend halloween together. it goes as well as you would think.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this was a little idea i had that became... this kinda big oneshot. basically i wanted to write something fun before the finale and for my favourite holiday (that my country... doesn't celebrate). i wrote a lot of this with the monster mash playing, hence the title.

Almost a month before Halloween, Kate asks if they should plan a party.

Seth responds from behind his computer, having taken the past two hours trying to put together an Excel spreadsheet without conceding and having to ask his girlfriend or brother for assistance. Kate is sprawled out on the couch peeking over the back at him in all her boredom.

“Why the fuck would we have a Halloween party? We’re friends with two people and one of them is your brother.” He grumbles, glancing at her for a moment.

He tries to go back to typing and Kate frowns, angling her face downwards. It’s harder to focus on the screen when she looks all grumpy. His fingers pause against the keys and he realises that he’s slouched over and sits up. He watches her and then pretends he isn’t when she meets his eyes.

“You have employees, don’t you?” She suggests, after a moment.

They still have a roster of people, most of which he actually likes too. He hadn’t pictured himself a friend to snakes that weren’t his brother but apparently he was capable of it, several times over in fact. Regardless, they’re employees first and foremost. “And you don’t think they’d prefer the night off?”

She groans and he hides his smirk by going back to typing.

In all honesty, he wouldn’t be completely opposed to a party, but they _really_ don’t keep many friends. It’s not like he’s about to invite his brother’s ex-girlfriend or the guy who tried to sacrifice his girl not so long ago over to party.

Kate bounces back quickly and announces that she’s going to find Richie. Seth narrows her eyes and watches her leave, not bothering to hide the way his gaze drops to her ass.

* * *

 

Kate knows that Richie has trouble saying no to her. That’s why it’s so easy to convince him. They don’t even have to talk about it for very long and it’s decided, he’ll look into it for her, maybe check around Austin because it might be more her scene.

While they sit through a Western she struggles to pay attention to, he tells her a story about trick or treating with Seth when they were younger. It’s quickly clear why he thinks more fondly of Halloween. He thinks of it as Blues Brothers costumes and picking through their stolen stash for sour candy, it’s not a reminder of all the bad stuff.

She tells him about the fact that Scott went as Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat three years in a row. By the third year the costume was way too small on him and ripped up a little when he was jumping and kicking at every street corner, but it always made him so happy. The memories feel a world away now, and that makes her sad for a moment.

Eventually, Seth trudges out of the shared office and collapses onto the couch against Kate. She soothingly runs her hands through his hair and speaks to Richie in hushed tones for another hour or so.

* * *

 

Halloween didn’t come up again until a week and a half prior to the party that no one told Seth about. At the very least, they weren’t planning one without him, but it’s still a party and they’re still trying to go out and buy costumes without him too.

“I’ll drive.” He insists, doing up his shirt buttons. The black Henley is one of her favourites for some reason. They don’t often dress casually, but it helps keep a low profile.

Kate responds from the bathroom. She’s wearing a plain black dress with a plaid shirt over it and it makes her look young, like the girl from so long ago now. “Seth, you don’t have to come.”

It’s not that he’s jealous, he just doesn’t understand why they wouldn’t have told him about it. Kate says they’ve only known for a day, but he stills folds his arms and sulks a little when he finds out. Richie chuckles at him and Seth flips him off.

Once he’s finished getting ready, he walks over to the doorway of the bathroom, watching her as she holds a hairpin between her teeth and twists back a section of her hair. She meets his eyes in the mirror momentarily, wearing a little bit of amusement. She still looks tired.

They don’t always get all that much sleep and not even for the reasons he wishes it was for. Although, don’t get him wrong, they lose plenty of sleep because of sex, it’s just that nightmares have become commonplace too. Part of the endless healing process when the Queen of Hell takes over your body.

“You don’t want me to come?” He asks.

“That’s not what I said.” She replies, pulling the hairpin from her mouth and turning around as her fingers pull her hair back into a ponytail. “Be honest, do you even _like_ Halloween?”

He considers it for a moment. “No.”

Kate gives him a look and he scoffs. They continue on their bickering for a little while longer, following each other through the house before they find Richard in the kitchen drinking straight out of the bottle of orange juice. He’s in the God awful black polo shirt and jeans looking like someone else.

“We have glasses for that.” Seth points out and Richie grins back at him. Kate nudges Seth, continues walking and narrows her eyes at Richie on her path towards the door.

“I thought Seth wasn’t coming.” The taller of the Gecko brothers points out, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“You thought wrong.” He shuts the fridge and follows his girlfriend.

Kate calls from the doorway, while searching through her bag. “Seth doesn’t want us to have fun without him.”

“I’m sure we can find you a nice costume, brother.” Richie tells him as he follows last.

“I’m not buying a fucking costume.”

They all bicker, a lot. It’s how Seth knows that Kate fits with them. Anyone who can’t hack it at back and forth has no place in their lives. She’s smart – witty. Plus, she curses way more than she used to, although he still likens the sound to something new and beautiful. Someone so angelic telling him to shut the fuck up just does something to him.

They all leave the house slowly, making their way into the dusty pseudo parking lot out back. Seth locks up and Kate decides she’s going to drive. Seth protests for a moment, but since they’re taking his car it means he can take the passenger seat and at least that’s not the back. Richie doesn’t complain though, only takes off his glasses and puts on his aviators, relaxing back into the seat.

* * *

 

Half an hour later they’re trudging up four flights of stairs and Kate is wondering aloud how the hell Richie found this place. He’s ahead of them all – damn culebra stamina. The place is above a stretch of stores, the only thing indicating it was what they were looking for was a black door.

“I asked around.” He replies tucking his glasses into the top of his shirt. He looks different without them on, and his hair flops in his face a little, but Kate thinks it looks okay.

“I swear to god, if this is run by some creep, you owe me twenty bucks.” Seth announces as he reaches the top of the stairs.

Richie refuses to pay up, even if the older woman has nails that almost double the length of her fingers and long, silver hair. Kate insists they don’t say anything rude even if she looks exactly like what her childhood nightmares made witches into. She wants to ask if she’s a culebra, but she doesn’t, instead she roams the store looking for the costume she’s had in mind.

Richie disappears somewhere else and Seth moves beside Kate, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips to the top of her head. He moves with her as she surveys the black dresses, having already skipped past the packaged costumes to the good stuff.

“You going for a sexy witch thing? Like a whole _The Craft_ vibe? Because I’m pretty sure that was plaid skirts.” He asks, as she fingers through black bell sleeves.

Kate rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Nope, my apologies to your Catholic school girl kink.”

“I don’t have a… What?” Seth sounds like she just made the most outrageous claim in the world.

“Sure.”

“I just liked that skirt.”

“I get it.” Kate smiles and it only spurs him on more.

“It’s not a kink.” He insists.

“Tell that to your boner.” She snickers and he uses his advantage of arms already around her waist and tickles her a little. She breaks from his grip and holds her finger up in warning. He holds his hands up in return and then shoves them in his pockets, the grin refusing to fade away.

It takes her another five minutes to find exactly what she’s looking for, and she’s surprised they even have that many options. It’s floor length with a bit of a plunging V-neck, the sleeves aren’t perfect but they’re long and she can buy fabric scissors. Even as she holds it out against her body turns to him, he doesn’t seem to catch on.

She folds it over her arm and walks off to find Richie who’s already got a pinstriped suit jacket on and has two different fake moustaches held up against his face. Seth hasn’t followed yet so it’s just the two of them and Kate doesn’t need to get his attention, he turns to her quickly. She holds the dress against her body again.

“Yes?” She beams and he smiles back at her, nodding. Then she turns her attention to the choice he’s trying to make. “Go with the one that makes you look less creepy.”

He picks the pencil moustache and Seth walks up as he’s pressing it against his upper lip.

“What the fuck are these costumes you two are doing?” He asks, tapping his hand against the dress still in her arms and pointing to his brother’s jacket.

They snicker.

Seth refuses to guess, for some reason and Kate insinuates it’s because he doesn’t like to be wrong. She tries on the dress with both of them sitting and waiting for her. They both watch as she opens the curtain, and it feels kind of big and her pink bra is visible, but she still likes it. Seth ogles her a little and Richie just surveys her and nods.

“Looks like you’re gonna trip over.” Seth says, head tipped back.

She shuts the curtain again, but not before flipping him off.

She’ll hem it.

They’re still there for another half an hour or so as Kate collects the rest of the pieces of the costume – a necklace, a ring and a wig. Richie tells her he doesn’t think he needs much else, unless she thinks he should buy some cigars. The place has way more than she could have expected, it’s practically a treasure trove. Once they have it all, she hangs back with Richie as Seth pays for it everything. Leaning her head against the other brother, she watches almost lovingly. And she does love him, the grumpy idiot who’s currently struggling to make conversation with the shop owner who watches him like a predator.

“Five bucks says she tries to slip him her number.” Richie says, after a moment. She peers up at him to see his lips turned up and his sunglasses back on.

“I’m not betting on something I agree with.”

It’s written on the receipt.

* * *

 

The night before the party, Richie insists that they watch some classic horror films.

Kate in turn insists that they include Scream and Richie agrees, but only so he can pick the rest of them.

She falls asleep half way through Halloween and only wakes up when she’s falling off Seth’s shoulder. Richie gives her a knowing look and explains everything she missed as the end nears. She goes to find some sugar to keep her awake for the final movie.

Seth complains about a lot of it, tells them what he would have done in those situations.

Once they’re done and in bed, Richie can hear them mumbling to each other from a room over. He hears Kate giggle. He rolls over and smiles to himself.

* * *

 

Seth is reading some crime novel that Kate had recommended to him while he waits for Kate to finish dressing. She does that sometimes, finishes reading interesting stuff and then hands it to him immediately after. He appreciates it, especially since it started soon after she learned that he likes that kind of stuff.

Most people expect Richie to be the one with his head stuck in books – and he usually is – but when it comes to fiction, he prefers the visuals and Seth likes to read.

He’s been dressed for a while, having thrown on a black suit and figuring that was good enough.

When she finished her shower she had shown her appreciation for it by getting on top of him clad only in her towel. There’s not much between them and it gets him hard pretty quickly, but he had to stop her anyway. They didn’t have the time first of all and second of all he wanted to see the damn costume. That, and her hair was dripping all over his jacket.

He wasn’t sure how long she had been in there. Turning the page, he wondered if she’d make fun of him for identifying too much with the protagonist. The gritty anti-hero detectives always interested him, she’d noticed that quickly when they’d spoken about a couple of novels. So sometimes he just liked the morally grey good guys more than the bandits and thieves, sue him.

The bathroom door slides open and she’s standing there apprehensively, hands on her hips.

The sleeves of her dress billow down from her wrists. The low cut neckline is perfect, and he can appreciate now that she sent him out to find her double sided tape for her tits. His eyes are trained there a little too long, although it’s the about the only skin she’s showing in the floor-length dress. The wig doesn’t suit her really, but he can appreciate the Goth look for a night, and the red lipstick he likes, definitely. The red nails too.

It takes a couple of seconds, and then it hits him.

“You’re doing a couples costume?” He asks, face scrunching up in confusion.

Kate rolls her eyes. “Can’t you just appreciate the time that this took me?”

The book in his lap snaps shut, his legs still stretched out across their bed. “You’re gonna be the shortest Morticia Addams I’ve ever seen. Why not Wednesday? You could rock the pigtails and everything.”

He can tell there’s some joke she wants to make burning on her tongue, but she holds back.

“Richie wanted to be Gomez and we figured that a daddy and daughter thing was too weird.”

Seth shudders at the thought.

He sits up a little more and gives her another onceover. “If you’re happy with it, I’m good.”

“Thanks for your approval.” It’s sarcastic.

He gets off their bed and reaches for her hand, bringing it to his lips. Pressing a kiss to the place where her thumb and forefinger, he moves up, turning it over to kiss her wrist. Looking up, he notices that her eyes have glazed over and for a moment he considers taking her by the waist and seeing if he can at least get his hand under her dress before they go.

They’re interrupted by Richie. As soon as he hears the words ‘ _cara mia_ ’ leave his brother’s lips he’s back to being unamused by the whole situation. 

* * *

 

The party is loud.

Kate never thought that through, how that might make her feel overwhelmed. It isn’t so full that she’s genuinely feeling sick, but it definitely throws her off at first. They’re only in a bar about half an hour away but it feels almost like another world. Again, she wonders how Richie found this place, and wonders if it too is filled with culebras.

Most people are a lot more scantily clad than she is, but it doesn’t change her mind even if she does feel a little bit inadequate. She doesn’t exactly have the boobs to pull off her dress, she thinks, or the hips. Since fixing it up, it doesn’t look like she’s drowning in the fabric but she’s not sure that Seth is all that into it. Regardless of all that, she loves her costume, she loves that it’s a decision she made conjured up by memories with her little brother. They’d asked Scott if he wanted to tag along, but he had his own plans, his own friends – a whole band of them. Kate had offered to come to their gig, but she came to a lot of them.

The room is mesh of people her age and up to mid-twenties and music blasts through the place. Seth kind of sticks out like a sore thumb, but she holds onto his hand tightly anyway. She’s glad she has the two of them on either side of her, and they serve as shields.  

Lights flash and the only well-lit place is the bar, probably out of necessity. The place looks old, it’s probably been around a while and they haven’t bothered with cheesy decorations, it’s just filled to the brim with people in costumes. She doesn’t recognise them all, but she supposes she’s missed out on quite a bit of pop culture in the last year or so. They make their way to a less crowded space, a bunch of pool games going and people glancing between the three of them.

Seth asks her if she wants a drink and she nods. “Just one.”

Underage drinking used to be a big deal to her, when she was younger. Now it just felt like a nuisance that it technically wasn’t legal for her to throw back shots with the Gecko brothers on Saturday nights.

Since the Titty Twister, she can handle a lot more, but she’s still always going to be wasted faster than the both of them.

He brings her back a pink and blue monstrosity of a slushy, holding it out like it's going to burn him. She looks impressed as she takes it. It’s sweet, and she decides that she likes it. She holds out the straw that opens at the end to scoop it up to Seth who tells her he’ll stick to his beer.

Someone comes up to them to compliment their costumes and flirt with her boyfriend, getting the wrong idea and she doesn’t blame her. Kate allows him to inform the girl that he’s not there on his own, smiling to herself and raising her eyebrows when he points to her and the girl is even more confused. When she leaves he whispers in her ear that he’s going to get her back for it. Something about liking to watch him squirm and she sips a little faster, blushing.

The night pushes on, she tries to nod her head along to a remix of the Monster Mash but she’s not into it.

Richie disappears for a little while, maybe to feed or to flirt with someone. He doesn’t get much attention on his own looking like he’s paired up with her, but he doesn’t say anything about it aloud. It leaves Kate with her drink and a now grumpy Seth.

She bumps her leg into his. “Why don’t you like Halloween?”

“Baby girl, I don’t think it requires an explanation.”

“You think your life is that much of a horror show on its own?” She looks kind of sad at the thought, it was the first thing to pop into her head.

He doesn’t reply, he just takes a longer sip of his beer.

“Richie told me a story about you two as kids. About the whole… Candy heist. Seemed like a good memory.” Kate placed her drink down on the bar, leaning closer to him with her behind just barely hanging off the stool. She’s not even close to tipsy, she’s just in a good mood. It feels normal, to be out like this.

Amusement curls the corners of his mouth upwards and he nods. “He told you about that?”

“Fedoras, bags of candy, running from your neighbour’s dog... Sounded like a movie or something.”

“He’s got a habit of exaggerating the good parts.”

“Sometimes that’s what you have to hang onto, right?”

“Right.”

Kate pauses, because she wants to make sure he hears her. “You’re my good part. You and Scott and Richie. This – This’ll be the good part too.”

“Don’t get all sappy on me in the middle of a bar, kid.”

“I’ll let you get back to looking tough.” She scrunches up her face and he motions to her drink.

“I had to order that thing for you so you better finish it.”

“Peer pressure never looked so old and grumpy. They never warned me about Seth Gecko in school.” Kate mused as she brought it to her lips.

“Little shit.” He mumbles it under his breath but she narrows her eyes at him and kicks his leg.

* * *

 

Seth doesn’t know how she managed to convince him to get on the dance floor… Except he kind of does. Kate Fuller put a spell on him long ago. He’d probably do whatever she asked, although he’s not trying to advertise that to her. That, and he watched his brother slow dance with her dramatically for about two songs before he got annoyed.

Even so, it’s not completely torturous to dance with her. She’s grinning from ear to ear, laughing as he spins her around. She wraps his arm around her waist as she begins to sway against him, looking up to check if he’s enjoying himself. He’s just staring down at her, the hint of a smile on his lips. She leans up to press a kiss to his stubbly cheek as she music changes, shifts to something sexier.

Kate shifts too and he knows it’s not because she’s tipsy. The drink had barely anything in it, no, this is just her. Kate, grinding her ass against his crotch in the middle of the dance floor.

It’s not long before he’s straining against his slacks and she definitely knows what she’s doing when she looks up at him again, looking all sweet and innocent. Her cheeks are pink and her forehead is dotted with sweat and he’s holding onto her like they aren’t in public where people can see the want in his expression.

“As soon as we get home I’m ripping this thing off you.” He tells her.

“Seth.” His name is drawn out, called up to him with her head tipped back against him.

“Mm?”

“Bathroom.” Her eyes widen, like she’s feeling urgent.

“You want me to walk you?” He drawls in response, feeling a little disappointed that he’s going to have to let go of her because she feels good.

Pressing herself into him again, she clutches his hand and quirks the corner of her mouth up. “ _Seth_.”

It would take a real idiot not to catch on and although he’d much rather go find the car he doesn’t have the patience to dig out his keys and lead her out. He nods, pauses and then does it some more as she moves his hands to places they really shouldn’t be.

“ _Jesus Christ_.”

Somehow in a party as big as this, they manage to push their way into one of the gaudy bathrooms, locking the door behind them. The room is big, swallowing up the noise they make with the echo from music outside. It’s a good thing there are more than just the two in the corner they rushed towards because otherwise they’d have had to ignore angry knocking and shouts from the other side a lot longer.

Laughter falls from her lips and he silences it with his own. Her hands slip his jacket off and it falls to the floor, his own hands begin to bunch up the fabric of her dress at her waist. It’s way too fucking long. Pushing her back into the counter, he lifts her up to sit her down on the empty space beside one of the sinks. Her legs wrap around him and he pushes it up more, determined to get his hands on her thighs before they pull away.

They kiss with urgency, like they’re facing a clock although they may have all the time in the world. Kate takes his bottom lip between her teeth, he pushes her dress up her knees. It’s heavy in his hands but he doesn’t waste time with it, pulling her close so it’ll stay there on her thighs.

“I’m starting to regret this costume.” She says, with a laboured breath and he notices it staring to slip down her legs again. She lifts her ass up, moving it back and some of the black fabric slips into the basin of the sink. She still looks like she’s bubbling with excitement and want.

“This is why I like the short skirts.” Hands slip underneath her dress, across smooth skin to reach for underwear that feels thinner than usual, lacy even. He’s grown used to the cotton, but she’s gone all out on this costume.

Kate exhales and her breath catches as he digs fingers underneath the waistband of her panties. “Easy access.” He’s hovering over her, and then pressing lips to the side of her jaw and then down her neck.

“Exactly, sweetheart.” Pushing her back slightly, he shifts from her neck, down her collarbone to her chest. He doesn’t bother trying to move the rigid dress, she had made sure it was going to stay there. It doesn’t stop him. He just kisses whatever skin is bare to him and she holds her hands against his shoulders, moving down his arms, locking onto his forearms.

Determined little angel, pushing his hands back in desperation, he has to give her what she wants. Standing up straighter to kiss her, she lifts her hips again and he pulls her underwear down. They move, both of them, so he can get them down one ankle and he throws them somewhere. It makes her hiss the beginning of his name but his mouth closes over hers. Legs lock around him again and he doesn’t remember when she kicked her shoes off. She does her fair share of teasing with her mouth, her tongue running up his neck as he groans, has to touch between her legs.

All he does is brush against her clit and there’s a whimper and he’s fucking weak at the knees at it. If he didn’t feel a little frantic, he would push her back and pull her hips towards his mouth. He’s desperate for release of his own, a selfish bastard through and through.

He pushes a finger into her once, twice and then brings it to his lips and she stares in awe at his mouth. He does the same as he presses it between her red lips, the colour unmoved through it all. She runs her tongue over his finger and he groans.

The finger runs down her chin and she takes her bottom lip between her teeth, reaching for his belt. He aids her, helping to undo his pants and slip them down, she swats his hands away from his boxers and he hardens his jaw as she swipes a nail across the line of skin just above the top of them. They’ve slowed to a pace he can no longer stand.

Seth exhales like she’s been keeping him waiting hours. “Why is it that you suddenly acquire patience when it comes to torturing me, huh?”

“Because I know you like to earn the right to fuck me.” Kate looks focused on him and the clear outline of his dick. She folds the top of his boxers down and then coos at him and for a second he can’t breathe. “Because you’re a bad, bad man.”

“I’m a bad, _impatient_ man.” It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate the fact that she’s so determined to get him begging to put his cock in her but they’re still in a bathroom at a party, but he’s desperate and she knows it.

He plans to say more but pre-emptively she pushes his boxers down. “Shut up.”

It sort of freaked him out the first time she got him naked, the way she stared and then he’d caught on that she wasn’t exactly experienced. She doesn’t do that this time, just pulls him into another kiss with her small hand wrapped around his length, guiding him into her.

Being inside her is a privilege he definitely doesn’t deserve, he knows that. He knows and yet he still pushes into her slowly, mumbling something about how good her pussy feels in her ear. Vulgar words are his specialty, and he likes to see her skin flush pink because of them, see what kind of shit will get her to react. Praising how she feels around his cock always goes down well. The pet names, too.

She’s dictating their pace still, and it’s not achingly slow because they’re still in the god damn bathroom of some club and she’s not quite that evil. Bucking his hips into hers, she’s got her forehead pressed against his, her mouth slightly agape as little noises leave her lips. His hands hold tightly onto the sides of her dress at her waist and she’s got her arms wrapped around him so hard he couldn’t leave if he wanted to. His pants and boxers hang around his ankles.

He’s probably not gonna last all that long, but the two of them frantically fucking in a bathroom was never really a recipe for success.

For every time she moans his name he’s closer and closer. She moved her head, pressing her mouth into his neck and biting down softly on the flames on his neck. Licking over them she repeats the motion until she’s breathing too heavy and whimpering.

“Fuck, Kate.” He breathes heavy, watching her in the mirror as she moans with her mouth pressed into his skin.

Seth figures he better pull out but she’s got a grip on him like she’s planning on staying there forever.

Surprisingly, she finishes before he does by a little bit, crying out and it throws him off the deep end too. The two of them pressed together and loud until there’s no noise but heavy breath as they calm down. The world comes back, the music is loud again although Kate doesn’t let go for a long time.

And then there’s a crash outside, enough to make her prop her head up on his shoulder. They better put their clothes back on. 

* * *

 

So she was right to be worried about culebras. Big shock there.

As they exit the bathroom, her wig won’t sit like it used to, but Kate doesn’t have time to fix it. Instead, she’s standing alarmed as she finally finds the source of commotion, watching Richie – scales and all – stalk around another culebra. They watch each other through bright eyes, inhuman and dangerous. Seth behind her takes her wrist cautiously and she turns to look at him, knowing it won’t end well.

“Are you going to stop him or am I?” She asks.

Seth sighs like he’s _so_ annoyed that this is his life now and steps in front of her. “Richard.”

It’s then that Kate notices the shining eyes of a few other culebras standing around them, like a threat they appear to her as Richie takes a step forward and then back. This time she’s the one reaching for Seth’s hand.

“He threatened me. And you. And _Kate_.” She purses her lips, no longer going unnoticed. Some of them stare at her.

“How does he even know who we are?”

“Knows some people who knows some people who know some people? Fuck if I know. Seems to think he’s going to be a hero and get revenge for whatever happened.”

“That girl _murdered_ our kind, and you protect her?”

And then it clicks. This is about her. About Amaru and all that she did while in her body. She wants to throw up at the memories that come flooding back. She remembers every single person killed by her hands, by a stranger in her skin.

“Kate didn’t murder anyone.” Richie defends her ardently. He has since the moment she became herself again because he knows what it’s like.

It’s another reason they get along, why they can spend hours talking. They share more than just their love of Seth. They share all of the awful things Amaru made them do, all that she put them through. The difference is she faced it for months while Richie only had to take days.

To endure all of that and still feel justified thinking you were a good person was too hard for her, but Richie made it easier to just… Be Kate. She could never be the girl she once was, she could only become okay with who she was now.

 “We can just go.” She says it to Seth, who seems to be uncharacteristically quiet.

“She needs to pay for what she’s done.” The man continues and a few people from the crowd make noises of agreement. Her stomach is in knots.

“Please, Seth.” It’s barely a whisper but she can tell he’s seething now, just like his brother who stands a little ways away, now still with his bared fangs.

Seth doesn’t respond, only hands her a small stake gun and she wonders where the hell he was keeping it. Giving his brother a look, there’s a beat before hell begins to break loose and for a moment Kate is stuck still, unsure what to do.

There’s no shortage of hissing and things breaking, and it’s not till she sees the culebra that was threatening them burn up that she screams. She puts her hand over her mouth to hide it.

She needs a task. Mayhem isn’t her specialty like the boys, although Seth is holding onto her hand and keeping her beside him. She whips her head around and watches as Richie gets thrown into a table and it makes her jump. Turns her head once more and there are fangs coming right for her and there’s only one shot, but she hits the target and disposes of the gun on the ground as the woman becomes ashes.

Everything happens in a blink, she almost trips over the skirts of her too god damn long dress and she finds that Richie is in front of her now.

“Richie, your knife.” She holds out her hand but instead he hands her his gun and pulls out the familiar black blade with the eye on the handle. “No, the dress…” He‘s already crouching down to cut into her dress and tear it away. She tries to focus.

He makes quick work of the bottom of it and it’d be more disappointing if she ever had plans to wear it again. Her legs are still sweaty as she holds the gun up like they taught her to and Richie lets her keep it, leading her towards the exit as Seth kills another one who almost scrapes his teeth against his neck. It makes her shudder. Pushing down steps, she turns around and hears Seth make some joke as he joins them and they’re out in the parking lot.

The night isn’t exactly cold but she’s shivering a little, not sure how she should react. She twists the black hair of her wig over her shoulder and turns to her boys behind her only as she reaches the car. She takes the back this time and not till they’re out of the parking lot all together does she feel any semblance of calm.

“That was fucked up.” Seth says, half way down some back road and Kate is pulling off the wig because she wants it off so badly. It doesn’t hide anything. It just makes it worse. She looks like her in all the black. She hates it. 

It’s still a few minutes before her hair is out again and she looks up and notices that Richie is watching her, probably because he’s not the one driving.

She returns his look sadly.

He doesn’t say anything, just nods. A silent comfort.

* * *

 

Somewhere after three a.m. they end up in a pretty little diner that serves breakfast twenty-four hours a day and suddenly the three of them are starving. Seth thinks Kate looks better without the wig, but he doesn’t say anything. Her dress is cut haphazardly at the bottom and he makes sure to give his brother shit about it, but he just shrugs.

The place is pretty empty but they take a back booth anyway, away from a window in case they’re there for too long – they’ve done it before. Kate seems like her old self again, bickering with Seth about which of them should slide into the booth first while Richie takes the other side, watching them. Eventually she gets Seth to take the seat next to the wall.

When they’re settled, she goes off to the bathroom and it leaves the two of them there.

“She okay?” Seth asks because he knows Richie has been keeping an eye on her. If it can’t be both, it’s always one or the other. Even if she can protect herself.

Richie pauses and looks down at the flimsy laminated menu, holding it between two fingers. “I think she will be if we order her everything off the breakfast menu.”

“I’m serious.”

“She might never get over all of that, Seth. Kate’s seen a lot of shit we never had to deal with. There’s six months we didn’t even… Know about it.” Seth has heard this a million times. They’ve spoken about it a million times, although Kate has pointed out that she’d rather they didn’t talk about it when she’s not even around.

“It’d help if fucking assholes from where ever the fuck weren’t seeing that face and thinking they’re one in the same.” He says bitterly, looking at his own menu although he’s just skimming through it all.

A waitress comes by and they nod when she offers them coffee and say they’ll wait for Kate to come back before they order any food. Seth is charming and Richie is still staring at the menu. The older woman looks like she doesn’t trust the two of them all that much, but considering it’s Halloween weekend she’s likely seen worse than some blood splattered suits and Richie’s pencil moustache.

“Would you take that thing off?” Seth asks, motioning to his upper lip as he moves the mugs around the table, one for each of them. They probably shouldn’t be drinking coffee at three a.m. but he’s not about to ask for water and they probably don’t serve whiskey.

His brother hesitates and then pulls it off, flinching a little and turning his head to check the bathroom door and then for the waitress before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flask. He pours a little in both of their mugs before he speaks again. “Not everyone’s smart enough not to blame the vessel. Especially if the actual murderer is dead and gone now.”

“Well cheers to that. The second part anyway.” Seth holds up his mug of coffee and Richie nods, clinking his own with it.

Kate appears a few minutes later, looking tired but less dejected. Her lips look red raw from where she’s rubbed off her lipstick but Seth ignores it, pressing a kiss to the side of her head as she slides into her seat, taking the mug of coffee with two hands.

“We ordering everything they have or what?” She asks, after a sip.

Richie laughs. “Told ‘ya.”

Seth narrows his eyes and nods. “Yeah, okay.” He motions for the waitress to come back over and orders while the other two look giddy.

Pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns don’t exactly fix the problem, but it makes Kate’s face light up for a little bit, and that’s worth it. It’s not exactly Seth’s best Halloween memory, but it’s the first one in their new normal. The three of them. His two favourite people in the world, momentarily happy after everything.


End file.
